Anger is present everywhere. How do you see anger? What is its color? Black, red, purple or white? Now think about these colors. Black is a color which symbolizes power, sophistication and also evokes images of death, misfortune and evil. Yet we say black with rage. Red is a color of passion and energy. Yet it also represents anger. Purple is a color of spirituality and imagination. Yet it is also said purple with rage. Last is white which is associated with purity and innocence. Again we say white with rage. All these colors have such powerful associations and when we express annoyance, all these colors become negative in their representation.

Anger is debilitating. Many of us experience it in our daily lives and it affects us in many ways. Tightening of the lips, clenching of the fists, frowning, grimacing, contracting our rectum and so on. We feel that we have hidden our emotions and we give a smile, which does not go to our eyes. Silent anger is extremely hard as we are frustrated and helpless. Sometimes we cannot share it or express it as the outcome can be a disaster.

What should we do?

One method is the practice of Inner Silence (Antar Mouna). We find out what makes us angry. Then we go to the origin. We become a witness and allow the thoughts to flood the space behind our brows. No engagement with the avalanche of thoughts. Repeat the sadhana daily and then we will find that it ceases to enrage us. Also, what we thought was the source, was not so. It was an accumulation of trying events and situations.

Aftertaste of rage

Our scowls, frowns or snarls will disappear. Expressing anger openly is also very unpleasant. It makes us exhausted and regretful. We express violent expressions and epithets and each time we say an unpleasant word, it influences our inner being. It is like a punch in our stomach and though it raises our adrenalin level, we feel wretched and guilty. It is like eating something vile and toxic. There is an aftertaste and one feels punished.

To overcome our explosions of anger, the balancing pranayama (samvrit pranayama) is perfect. A daily practice of fifty four rounds will gift us control over our fury and rage. Inhale to the count of five, hold breath to the count of five, exhale to the count of five, and pause outside to the count of five. Add So Ham to it. So while inhaling and Ham while exhaling. In a nutshell, this balances one’s prana and reduces one’s anger.

See all the colors with joy and in rage.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Lacie Slezak on Unsplash